Born on this day is former goalkeeper Alec Chamberlain. The shot-stopper signed for the lads in 1993 under manager Terry Butcher, and played for the Lads until '96.
Initially, Chamberlain struggled on Wearside and was actually booed by his own fans in a fixture against Stoke, which was the culmination of a number of bad results including a 5-0 loss to Derby County. However, he managed to turn his form around after a poor first year.
When Butcher was replaced by Mick Buxton, Chamberlain continued to tussle with fan favourite Tony Norman for the number one spot, being rotated in and out of the team. After playing consistently for Colchester United and Luton Town, this was a change that the keeper clearly wasn’t used to.
At the end of the 1994/95 season, Chamberlain joined Liverpool on loan purely as cover for their League Cup final. He picked up a medal for the Reds despite never playing a minute for them! Just two days into his Liverpool spell, Buxton was sacked at Sunderland and in came Peter Reid. Chamberlain wanted to fight for his place on Wearside, but he was told to stay at Liverpool until the end of his loan deal.
The following summer, Reid made it clear that he was a big admirer of Brad Friedel. However, when no move materialised Chamberlain found himself number one again at Sunderland. He was finally given a string of games, starting every match until January. But then Shay Given arrived and kept the former Luton man out of the team. An injury to Given allowed Chamberlain back into the side for the last six games of the season, where he impressed and was able to leave the club on a high, helping take Sunderland to the Premier League for the first time.
After leaving Wearside, Chamberlain played over 200 games for Watford and became a legend at the club. He played for the Hornets from 1996 to 2007, before retiring at 42 years old and becoming a goalkeeping coach at Vicarage Road.
